'the problem is,' said quick ben, 'we have no idea what the che'malle want with gesler and stormy.'

'and no real way to find out,' added bottle.

'i see,' said keneb. 'well, how can we defend against such future attacks? high mage?'

'i'll see what i can think up, fist.'

'one squad member with a crossbow stays awake at all times at night,' said keneb. 'maybe that won't help, but it's a start. adjunct, if the soldiers begin thinking people can go missing at any time and we can do nothing about it, we'll end up facing a mutiny.'

'you are correct, fist. i will see to it that the order goes out.' she turned. 'captain yil, ride to the letherii camp and report our losses-you need hold nothing back from commander brys beddict. include in your report our conjectures.'

as lostara made to leave, quick ben said, 'captain, be sure that atri-ceda aranict is present.'

she nodded and then departed.

the adjunct stepped close to keneb. 'fist. we have suffered a wound here. it may prove deeper and more serious than any of us presently believe. you may be assured that i will do all that is in my power to find and retrieve gesler and stormy-but understand, we must continue the march. we must hold this army together.'

'aye, adjunct. to that end, we have another problem. he was just here, in fact.'

she held his gaze. 'i am aware of that, fist. i am also aware of the additional burdens you have been forced to carry as a consequence. i will deal with this matter shortly. in the meantime, we need to make certain that the rumour of gesler and stormy deserting is laid to rest. the truth is unpleasant enough in its own right that none will think us dissembling. summon your officers, fist.' she then turned to her high mage. 'do what you can to protect us.'

'i will, adjunct.'

'and find them, quick ben.'

'again, whatever i can do, i will do it.'

'we cannot lose any more veterans.'

she did not need to add that without them the chains of this army would snap at the first moment of trouble. even now, one more gust of ill wind could do us all in.

gesler and stormy, you damned idiots. probably tossing dice in that rank tent you shared-or stitching a solid wall down the middle to close another spat. as bad as brothers, you two were. and now you're gone and there's a huge hole in my company of marines, one i can't hope to see filled.

the adjunct and the high mage had left. fiddler and bottle drew close to their fist.

'fire, sir.'

keneb frowned at fiddler. 'excuse me?'

'it's the fire. the one they went through. thinking on it, i doubt that winged lizard will be back. i can't be sure, but my feeling is we've seen the last of it. and the last of them.'

'you said this to the adjunct?'

'just a feeling, sir. i'm sending bottle out tonight, to see what he can find.'

bottle looked thrilled at the prospect.

'let me know what he discovers, sergeant. immediately-don't wait until morning. i'm not sleeping anyway.'

'i know the feeling, sir. as soon as we get something, then.'

'good. go on, now. i'll see to dispersing gesler's squad-hold on, why not take one now? take your pick, fid.'

'shortnose will do. he's hiding a brain behind all that gnarly bone and whatnot.'

'are you sure?' keneb asked.

'i sent him to collect four people in a specific sequence. i didn't need to repeat myself, sir.'

'and he's a heavy?'

'aye, sometimes things ain't what they seem, you know?'

'i'll have to think about that, fiddler. all right, take him and get going.'

outrider henar vygulf walked up the main avenue between the ordered rows of the letherii camp. though a horseman, the ground trembled slightly with each step he took, and there was little debate as to who was the tallest, biggest soldier in brys's army. he drew curious stares as he made his way to hq. he wasn't astride his huge horse, after all, and not riding at a torrid pitch making people scatter as was his habit; thus, seeing him on foot was shocking in itself, quite apart from the fact that he was striding into the heart of the encampment. henar vygulf hated crowds. he probably hated people. could be he hated the world.

trailing two steps behind him was lance corporal odenid, who was attached to the commander's staff as a message-bearer. this was his sole task these days: finding soldiers and dragging them back to brys beddict. the commander was conducting intensive and extensive interviews, right through the whole army. odenid had heard that for the most part brys was asking about the wastelands, collecting rumours, old tales, wispy legends. the most extraordinary thing of all, when it came to these interviews, was brys beddict's uncanny ability to remember names and faces. at day's end he would call in a scribe and recount for her a complete and detailed list of those soldiers and support staff he'd spoken with that day. he would give ages, places of birth, military history, even family details such as he had gleaned, and he would add notes on whatever each soldier knew or thought they knew about the wastelands.